Extension, advice and knowledge systems for private forestry: Understanding diversity and change across Europe

Anna Lawrence, Philippe Deuffic, Teppo Hujala, Liviu Nichiforel, Diana Feliciano, Krzysztof Jodlowski, Torgny Lind, Didier Marchal, Ari Talkkari, Meelis Teder, Lelde Vilkriste, Erik Wilhelmsson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

20 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The decisions and actions of private forest owners are important for the delivery of forest goods and services. Both forest ownership, and policies related to forest owners, are changing. Traditionally in most countries, government extension officers have advised and instructed forest owners, but this is evolving, with greater importance given to a range of actors, objectives, and knowledge types. Drawing on literature and mixed data from 10 countries in Europe, this paper explores how forestry advisory systems can be conceptualized, and describes their current situation in Europe. Drawing parallels with the concept of AKIS (Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems), we propose the term FOKIS (FOrestry Knowledge and Information Systems), as both a system (a purposeful and interdependent group of bodies) and a method for understanding such systems. We define four dimensions for describing FOKIS: owners, policy goals, advice providers, and tools. We find different roles for extension in countries with centrally controlled, highly regulated forest management, and advisors in regions where forest owners have more freedom to choose how to manage their forest. We find five trends across Europe: increasing flexibility, openness and participation of owners as sources of information; increasing reliance on information and persuasion rather than enforced compliance; a shift of attention from timber to a wider range of ecosystem services such as biodiversity and recreation; a shift of funding and providers from public to private sector; emergence of new virtual communication tools. The approach provides a way to make sense of comparisons and change in FOKIS, and opens up an important research field.

Original languageEnglish
Article number104522
JournalLand Use Policy
Volume94
Early online date20 Feb 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20 Feb 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The work on this article was supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) through COST Action FP1201 - Forest Land Ownership Changes in Europe: Significance for Management and Policy (FACESMAP) CGA-FP1201-3B . We thank two anonymous referees for their careful reading and helpful suggestions.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020

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